ok, ok. That being said, it really does resemble a model rocket and the diminutive size of the prototype didn't help that.

furthermore, while its fair to say they are doing quite a bit with a limited budget, they are also only really scaling up existing technology. Yeah, SS1 had existing tech all over it, but in this case, it's tech a child puts together for roughly a total price of 40 bucks.

Stellvia, I'm aprt of a small rocketry club that is building a 5 foot long liquid fuel rocket with pressure fed engines. we purchased the kit from Canada for $1000.
so you're right, the ARCA rocket is not a toy, maybe a good project for a large rocketry club, like the guys that recently senta model rocket into space.

I think what he meant is that, even if you scale your demo vehicle by a factor of two, it still won't be able to carry three people in space so its presence in the X-Prize cmpetition was not justified, but merely a publicity stunt.

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For helping escape when I needed most
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Stellvia, I'm aprt of a small rocketry club that is building a 5 foot long liquid fuel rocket with pressure fed engines. we purchased the kit from Canada for $1000.so you're right, the ARCA rocket is not a toy, maybe a good project for a large rocketry club, like the guys that recently senta model rocket into space.

I think what he meant is that, even if you scale your demo vehicle by a factor of two, it still won't be able to carry three people...

You got any figures to justify that assertion?

It's worth pointing out that the Demonstrator-2B launch did NOT show the full performance of the prototype. The rocket was loaded with less than 20% of a full tank of propellant, because of (a) weather and (b) range safety limits.

109Ace wrote:

... in space so its presence in the X-Prize cmpetition was not justified, but merely a publicity stunt.

That's pretty patronising Why should ARCA be any more of a "publicity stunt" than say Armadillo or STC, neither of which has had a successful launch of a full-scale vehicle yet? Carmack seems to think that he could build an X-prize-class vehicle using mixed-monoprop engines, so why couldn't the Romanians do the same?

That's pretty patronising Why should ARCA be any more of a "publicity stunt" than say Armadillo or STC, neither of which has had a successful launch of a full-scale vehicle yet? Carmack seems to think that he could build an X-prize-class vehicle using mixed-monoprop engines, so why couldn't the Romanians do the same?

ahh she set herself up for this one ...
Carmack can do anything because he made Doom

_________________Thank you very much Mister Roboto
For helping escape when I needed most
Thank you
Thank you

That's pretty patronising Why should ARCA be any more of a "publicity stunt" than say Armadillo or STC, neither of which has had a successful launch of a full-scale vehicle yet? Carmack seems to think that he could build an X-prize-class vehicle using mixed-monoprop engines, so why couldn't the Romanians do the same?